And Life Resumes…

Assalamualaikum,

Okay, so I used to get really irritated whenever any one of my friends (or favorite bloggers) got married and disappeared for a while, and now I totally understand why. You get busy! And you have a man in your life, so of course you want to spend time with him. 😉

I’ve really missed this place the past few months. (On a side note, I think it’s time to change the layout, though. It seems to summery, and I can already feel fall in the air. It’s gettin’ chilly outside!) Hmm, so let’s recount everything that’s happened since my latest hiatus, shall we? I got married. Omg! SubhanAllah, it seems like the hubby and I have been married for a whole lot longer than just two months. Married life is wonderful, alhamdulillah. 😀

I feel like ever since I got married, I’ve been moving from place to place. First, it was from the Lower Peninsula to Mackinac, then from there to St. Louis, St. Louis to MI, MI to St. Louis, then back to MI, and then finally to PA. Whew, I’m so glad we’re at school now alhamdulillah and staying stationary for a while. And this place has finally started to feel a bit like home now that the furniture has arrived. Now I’ve just got to put the wall decals and decor up, which I’m pretty excited about!

School’s fine, alhamdulillah. I think I took one too many credits though. I should have given it at least a semester before taking 19 credits. I’m so out of it right now. I feel like I’m in lala land, and reality will hit this Friday come exam time. And THEN, I’ll start freaking out. Uh-oh, I’m so not looking forward to that! It’s just going to take a while to get used to living on campus and the environment/vibe here. It’s a bit weird not seeing any Muslims around campus walking from class to class. That’s so unlike UMD. Even though I’ll always be a Wolverine for life, I think it’s time for me to accept that I’m at Penn State now, and I’ll graduate as a Lion (ewwwww). I’m seriously considering wearing my U of M hoodie someday when PSU is playing against Michigan. But then I’ll get death stares, and I already stand out as it is. Maybe I could reconsider my idea. We shall see…

Pennsylvania’s gorgeous though. 😀 It’s a very scenic state, and the view you see stepping out of Walmart is definitely not one you’d see outside of Meijers. There are hills and mountains everywhere, which is totally unlike Michigan.

The MSA here is quite interesting. Most of the e-board members are international students. I’m the only one who’s from here. It’s different, but nice, alhamdulillah. They are a bit more conservative than the MSAs back home, which works well for me!  It’s not so active right now, but we’re trying to get it back on its feet.

I miss home so much some days, but alhamdulillah, I really think I’m getting used to it here and settling in now. 🙂

Adieu, adieu,

Amatullah

 

 

 

Surprise!

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah, 😀

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve last written! So much happened this past month. The semester ended and now this one will be my last one at U of M, I got engaged and will be getting married in a few weeks, inshaAllah, and Ruqayyah and her babies are leaving tomorrow. I was actually quite sad about the last bit yesterday, but then I thought that instead of focusing on the fact that they’ll be leaving, I should instead think about what a great time we had together. I remember looking at the pictures of her babies that she would send us every now and then and thinking about how I couldn’t wait to play with them. And I got to do just that for two months! Alhamdulillah, good times. 🙂

The three of us sisters were talking yesterday and realized that now we’ll have to plan accordingly so we can also see each other when we come visit our family in Michigan. Fatima will probably be moving out of state depending on where she and her husband decide to move for his residency, and I’ll be in Pennsylvania inshaAllah. But that’s life, aye? We’re growing up. We just never thought it would happen so soon. Time flies, subhanAllah. I’m just worried about Zainab since we’re very close. She’s my baby. I’m concerned about her tarbiyah, about her deen. She’s almost seven now. I wonder if she’ll be able to talk to me as she grows older…will I become a stranger to her? I don’t know. I hope not. My parents and I talked about this last night, and honestly, I’ve come to realize that the only thing I can do is make du’aa and leave it all up to Allah (swt). It’ll be fine inshaAllah. O and S I’m not so worried for. Maybe S a bit. O’s probably going to go to the district high school this fall. I think he should be fine inshaAllah. There’s another hafidh there who is a friend of his and he wears a topee/kufi to school. That’s pretty impressive, mashaAllah, considering the kind if school he’s in. May Allah (swt) purify his intentions and grant him istiqaamah. I think A’s okay too. He has a decent head on his shoulders, and we’re close, so that’s good too, alhamdulillah. I’d never thought I’d ever feel this way because I was never given any sort of responsibility over my younger siblings by my parents. I always felt that it was Ruqayyah’s job since she’s the oldest child. But since she left a few years ago, I’ve been looking out for the younger three, concerning their deen-related stuff, as well as their academic studies. So I guess it’s only natural to feel this way.

There was a jamaat over in the community last weekend from India, and I think I realize now what’s so special and unique about this effort. I do appreciate the conferences and lectures and classes, and know that they are extremely beneficial (I love the conferences in Toronto!), but there’s something different about jamaat that I haven’t seen anywhere else. These people actually make sacrifices to go out and give da’wah. They leave their homes, their families, and their kids simply for the sake of spreading the deen as well as learning themselves. They know that it’s the responsibility for every single Muslim to give da’wah. The worry, the fikr that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) had is instilled in their hearts. I was honestly a bit skeptical when I went in jamaat for the first time, but once I came back, I understood part of what it’s about. It’s like a spiritual retreat, when you’re away from your everyday surroundings so you’re not distracted, and focus in implementing the sunnah in your life, doing your adhkaar, praying tahujjud, learning and implementing new ahadith, talking about the greatness of Allah (swt). When I went, it was even better, because there was an ‘Aalimah in the group, so there was a lot we learned from her. May Allah (swt) accept everyone’s efforts and have us all be a means of hidayah for the ummah.

I miss my third graders. I miss their smiles and contagious excitement. I should go back next week, inshaAllah.

I want to go the Henry Ford Estates next week after class and go by the river, or to the park by Wyandotte Hospital and sit on the bench with my knees drawn up and look into the lake, and just…be in solitude and think…reflect. I know I have to start praying tahujjud again. I miss the sakeenah, the tranquility I feel after crying unto Allah and making du’aa the last third of the night. The feeling’s unmatched to anything else. I have so much to be thankful for, so, so much.

I was at Fatima’s house yesterday and I randomly realized that I was happy and excited. Alhamdulillah. I haven’t felt that way since my high school graduation. I usually feel content; I feel fine. I have my ups and downs, but that’s dunya, you know? We just have to remember to say “alhamdulillahi ‘alaa kulli haal” through it all.

I think I have the sunnah of smiling down. Everyone says I’m always smiling. Yesss! So excited about that!

Fatima made this awesome cupcake bouquet as a surprise for me the day the in-laws came over for the engagement. It looked gorgeous, mashaAllah!

Amatullah

Spring and Cake

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah!

Whew, have things been busy these past couple of weeks! Alhamdulillah, I’m just glad the winter semester’s winding up next week so I’ll have one thing less to worry about. It always seems that it’s this time of the year when things get really hectic and busy. But subhanAllah, it’s gorgeous outside: flowers are blooming, leaves are budding, the breeze is blowing, and the lawn mowers are roaring back to life. *Siigghhhhh* I absolutely love spring.

O. finished memorizing the Qur’aan a couple of weeks ago, alhamdulillah! Allahuma zid fazid. May Allah (swt) give him the tawfeeq to act upon all that he’s learned and accept his efforts. Ameen! S. is getting ahead of me with Surah Yusuf. I should probably pick up my pace right about now…

Now I’m off to write some more research papers. Oh, the joy!

This cake had strawberry  jello inside it and was frosted with vanilla frosting. Fatima had a great idea of inserting (while it was still hot)  the jello with a syringe so that it would get in and thoroughly penetrate the layers of cake, instead of with a fork (as recipes suggest), which doesn’t work so well.

 

Adieu, adieu mes amies,

Amatullah

Reality

Love spoken word. This one’s awesome, mashaAllah!

Poems and Stuff

Stressed! I have two papers due in the morning, and I’ve promised myself not to skip even one more class since the semester is coming to an end soon. Darn! Why, oh why, do I always procrastinate?!

R’s here with her babies. They’re the cutest things, mashaAllah! After I came home last Friday, Husain ran up to me and hugged me about the legs. It was absolutely adorable, I tell you! 🙂

Anywhoo, this always makes me cry. It’s a beautiful poem, so I thought I’d share it. Take a listen.

The poem above, in turn, reminded me of this:

Spring is in the Air

Assalamualaikum, 🙂

It was gorgeous outside today subhanAllah, even if it was windy! But I loved that too. The breeze was a bit strong, but it was nice and warm since  the temperature was in the 60s.  I went for a walk around the block and took some pictures along the way…